news

MLB News

J.D., Goldy tally 3 HRs to back Ray's 12 K's

By
Barry M. Bloom and Jarrid DenneyMLB.com

PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez delivered his second multi-homer game in less than a week as the D-backs topped the Padres, 3-2, at Chase Field on Sunday.

As an encore to his four-homer performance last Monday, Martinez hit a 461-foot homer in the second inning and added a 406-foot shot in the fifth. Both came off Padres starter Luis Perdomo. With the win, the D-backs maintained their five-game lead over the Rockies for the first National League Wild Card slot.

PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez delivered his second multi-homer game in less than a week as the D-backs topped the Padres, 3-2, at Chase Field on Sunday.

As an encore to his four-homer performance last Monday, Martinez hit a 461-foot homer in the second inning and added a 406-foot shot in the fifth. Both came off Padres starter Luis Perdomo. With the win, the D-backs maintained their five-game lead over the Rockies for the first National League Wild Card slot.

Martinez, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, now has 37 homers on the year and 21 since joining the D-backs.

"I don't know history of baseball," Archie Bradley said. "But I think you can put him up there as one of the best midseason trades that's ever been made, especially for the D-backs. I mean, the guy is incredible. Every homer he's getting more expensive. Hopefully he likes us a lot and wants to stay here."

Robbie Ray allowed two runs in six innings and followed up his 14-strikeout performance in his last start by fanning 12 Padres.

Ray has struck out at least nine batters in each of his last four starts while walking six batters in that span. He sits at 196 strikeouts on the year and passed Zack Greinke (194) for the D-backs' team lead.

The first six batters Ray retired -- and nine of the first 12 -- came via strikeout. The Padres ran up his pitch count a bit in the first inning when Manuel Margot and Erick Aybar reached on a walk and a single to start the game.

"Honestly, I was trying to get a double play," Ray said. "I ended up striking out the side, but I felt like, after that walk, we got the ground ball and it just didn't work out. So first and second, I just tried to bear down and do what I've been doing all year."

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDSherfy shuts it down: With the D-backs holding a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh, manager Torey Lovullo called on Jimmie Sherfy, who entering Sunday had not allowed a runner to reach base in five innings since he was called up Aug. 20. Sherfy gave up a double to Matt Szczur before getting Padres leadoff man Margot to pop out to second with a low curveball to end the threat and hold the Arizona lead.

Goldy's birthday blast: In the bottom of the fourth, Goldschmidt gave the D-backs their first lead of the game with a solo homer to left-center off Perdomo that Statcast™ tracked at 452 feet. It was Goldschmidt's 34th homer of the season and also came on his 30th birthday. It was Goldschmidt's first homer on his birthday and the third of his career off Perdomo.

QUOTABLE"I wasn't surprised to see Archie in the game in the ninth inning. [Fernando] Rodney threw a lot of pitches on Saturday night. When they used David Hernandez to pitch the eighth, I figured we'd see Bradley in the ninth." -- Padres manager Andy Green, on Bradley, who earned his first career save

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDSMartinez's homer in the second inning left his bat at 112.8 miles per hour. According to Statcast™, that's the hardest-hit home run by a D-backs player this season. It's also the second hardest-hit homer of Martinez's career -- the hardest came on July 21, 2015, when he hit one with an exit velocity of 113.2 mph.

WHAT'S NEXTPadres: The Padres have an off-day Monday prior to opening a two-game series against the Twins on Tuesday night at Target Field in a 5:10 p.m. PT start. Left-hander Travis Wood (3-5, 6.00 ERA) is slated to go against right-hander Kyle Gibson (9-10, 5.19) for Minnesota.

D-backs: The D-backs will begin a four-game home series with the Rockies on Monday, with first pitch coming at 6:40 p.m. MST. Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.01) will take the mound for Arizona.